


tearing down ceilings

by defcontwo



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-12
Updated: 2013-06-12
Packaged: 2017-12-14 19:48:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/840690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/defcontwo/pseuds/defcontwo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Competence is a virtue that not all SHIELD agents possess in as much abundance as they probably should, but Natasha has always thought that Maria Hill has it in spades.</p>
            </blockquote>





	tearing down ceilings

**Author's Note:**

> I was going through a lot of my old drabble fills from various comment fic fests and found this one, so if it looks familiar, that's why.

Competence is a virtue that not all SHIELD agents possess in as much abundance as they probably should, but Natasha has always thought that Maria Hill has it in spades.

There is something familiar in the tilt to Hill's stubborn chin, the sharpness with which she jumps to orders - she reminds Natasha of herself, many years ago.

A spy and a soldier are two very different beasts entirely but the sentiment remains the same. Natasha knows what it's like to be looked upon and found wanting for reasons that infuriate, for reasons that make her wish she could burn this world down and reconstruct it from the ashes, make it better. It is right there in her name, the Black Widow, a double entendre that makes people smirk and doubt and refuse to see her for what she really is.

Some days, they don't see it even after they've hobbled away, broken and bleeding, idiot victims of the Widow's trap. It bothered her, once.

(It does, still. She's just gotten better at pretending).

Hill is desperate to prove herself worthy, to prove that she's won the race, and she can't see that she already has. Some days, with the bridge of the Helicarrier in full swing, there is an uncertainty, a disbelief in her eyes that shouldn't be there. She has yet to learn that she is the only one she has to prove herself to.

It will come with time. With any luck, Hill won't have nearly as much time as Natasha had to figure that one out.

It doesn't hurt, these sparring sessions that they've fallen into, not quite saying all that makes them angry, but the meaning is there just beneath the surface. They're not friends, not yet, but an empty training room isn't a bad place to start.

"Not bad, Hill. Show me how you did that last move again," Natasha asks.

Maria rolls her eyes in that distinctive way of hers. "Did I hear a please in there somewhere, Agent Romanoff."

Natasha replies with a "please" in Russian, smartly, earning her a laugh.

"If I'm Director of SHIELD one day, you might regret that smart mouth, Romanoff."

"When," Natasha corrects firmly. "When you're Director of SHIELD."

Maria smiles, in spite of herself. "Right. When."

(Other days, Natasha is reminded that maybe she doesn't have to burn the world to make it better - maybe this is how it happens, in bits and pieces, in empty training rooms with a friend).


End file.
